Jai Singh II was supremely talented
- politically, intellectually and on the battlefield, he was
known as the warrior-astronomer. In 1696 he had earned the title
of 'Sawai' meaning 'One and a Quarter' (Intelligence) from emperor
Aurangzeb after the emperor was impressed by his wit and pluck
, a title which was proudly borne by all of Jai Singh's descendants.
The Kingdom of Kachhawahas spread a lot in all sphere, eventually
encompassing a large area which abutted the kingdoms of Mewar
(Udaipur region) and Marwar (Jodhpur region). The history of
Kachhawahas can be traced back to Duleh Rai , son of Sodh Dev,
the Kachhawaha ruler of Narwar (Near Gwalior), migrated to Dausa.
Duleh Rai was a Kachhawahas who could trace his lineage to Rama,
hero of the sun-born dynasty immortalised in Ramayana. He was
married to the daughter of Chauhans of Ajmer. Duleh Rai's also
known as 'Tej Karan' , his son Kabil Dev is known to have established
dynastic rule in Amber which was the most important stronghold
of the Minas.
Amber is situated 11 kms out of Jaipur on the Delhi to Jaipur
road. The Kachhawahas originally hailed from Narwar (Near Gwalior)
where they reigned for over 800 years. A martial alliance between
a Kachhawahas prince, Tej Karan, and a rajput princess of Chauhans
of Ajmer resulted in the capturing of the region of Dausa. Tej
Karan was able to defeat the Bargujras who ruled half of Dausa,
the other half being under the dominance of the Chauhans.
Tej Karan's descendants converted the hill top on which Amber
Fort was later built, recognizing its Virtue as a potential
military stronghold. The Site was eventually princed from its
original inhabitants, the susawat Minas, and the Minas were
granted guardship of the Kachhawahas treasury in return.
The Kachhawahas , despite being devout Hindu belonging to the
Kshatriya (warrior) caste, recognized the expediency of aligning
themselves with the powerful Mughal Empire. They paid homage
at the Mughal court, and cemented the relationship with marital
alliances. They were handsomely rewarded for their bravery defending
the mughals in their various skirmishes. With war loots they
were able to finance construction of the fortress palace at
Amber, which began in 1592 by Maharaja Man Singh, the Rajput
commander of Akbar's Army. Man Singh was known to be a navratna
(One of the Nine Jewels) in the court of Akbar. |
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